Lift Replacement by Town Councils

16 Mr Chong Kee Hiong asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Ministry will investigate if there are sufficient funds in each Town Council to replace their lifts when their recommended life cycle comes to an end; (b) under what conditions do Town Councils need to bring forward lift replacements; and (c) whether these warrant an increase in service and conservancy charges or a higher allocation percentage to the sinking fund.

The Minister for National Development (Mr Lawrence Wong): Madam, Town Councils have the statutory responsibility to carry out proper maintenance and cyclical replacement of lifts in Housing and Development Board (HDB) estates, to ensure that lifts are well-functioning.

Under the Town Councils Act and Rules, every Town Council is required to set aside a minimum of 30% for 1- to 3-room flats, or 35% for 4-room or larger flats. This is 30% or 35% of the service and conservancy charges (S&CC) collected and grants-in-aid received in a separate Sinking Fund. This fund will be used to fund the cyclical works, which include the replacement of lifts and lift parts.

The recommended replacement cycle of 28 years for lifts serves as a guide to Town Councils in planning and budgeting for the cyclical work. Town Councils should, in consultation with their appointed lift maintenance contractors and their Authorised Examiner, assess whether their lifts should be replaced, taking into consideration their working condition and state of repair, as well as their performance at the regular servicing and annual lift inspections.

Town Councils are ultimately responsible for managing their finances and should take the appropriate measures to ensure that they have sufficient funds to carry out their statutory responsibilities. They can choose to contribute a higher percentage of their S&CC collections and grants-in-aid beyond the stipulated minimum to their Sinking Funds, or increase S&CC rates where necessary.

The Ministry of National Development (MND) is currently reviewing ways to help Town Councils plan ahead and better monitor their long-term financial sufficiency. For example, we are looking at having Town Councils do their own projections and put in place plans for financial sustainability. Given that lift replacement is a major Sinking Fund expenditure, we are also considering ring-fencing part of the Town Councils' Sinking Funds to cater for such expenditures.

Mr Ang Hin Kee (Ang Mo Kio): I would like to enquire, whilst the Town Councils are responsible for lift replacements, whether MND will work on establishing a skills framework for lift technicians so that the industry is professionalised and the technicians managing and servicing the lifts will be of a higher level and calibre so that the maintenance will be up to standard.

Similarly, would MND consider implementing a quality mark that stipulates that lifts that are installed in HDB blocks are of a higher standard and quality that the breakdowns and the need for maintenance will be of a shorter cycle and the lifts can last longer and are more reliable?

Mr Lawrence Wong: Madam, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) is, indeed, looking at the whole lift industry − the technicians, the people who are in charge, the authorised examiners − to see how we can strengthen the capacity of the technicians, the authorised examiners with regard to the Member's first question. So, BCA is, indeed, looking at this area to see how capabilities can be increased and strengthened.

The second point on the procurement and installation of lifts, HDB already does that. Whenever it procures a lift for installation in new HDB blocks, HDB already looks at quality in terms of the procurement process. Beyond installation, the rest of it really depends on maintenance − regular good checks and a proper inspection regime. That is beyond HDB because, as I said earlier, it is the responsibility of every Town Council. So, we hope that the Town Councils will have that in place, pay attention to this area, make sure that there are quality checks and regular maintenance done once the lifts are installed.

Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied): Mdm Speaker, just one supplementary question for the Minister. I understand that there are some lifts for which certain parts have become obsolete. This obsolescence takes place well before the recommended 28-year guideline for lift upgrading or replacement. Would the Ministry consider introducing a lift upgrading programme or considering a subsidy for this sort of lifts?

Mr Lawrence Wong: Madam, HDB is aware of some particular lift models where, perhaps, the manufacturers may no longer be operating in Singapore. Parts may not be so easy to procure. So, HDB will work with the Town Councils to assist them in looking at appropriate replacement for these lift parts, in particular.

Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson): Madam, I would like to ask the Minister whether there could be at least an internal appraisal system to rank lift companies in terms of their performance, the quality of the installations. For example, for certain companies that have a very high frequency of reported defects or repairs needed even after a new installation, that when considering which company to award the tender to, that could also be factored in as well.

Mr Lawrence Wong: Madam, as I mentioned just now, HDB already does that in its procurement and selection of lift manufacturers. So, it will and already looks at breakdown rates of different lift models, as a quality measure in selecting the new lift model for installation in new HDB blocks.

I want to emphasise what I said earlier, that the maintenance part is equally important, and what I said earlier was that BCA is looking at enhancing its regulations as well as enhancing and strengthening capabilities in this area. So, BCA will also be looking at performance-based maintenance because, today, I think many Town Councils get a lift contractor to maintain the lifts, but you have not a lot of oversight over the performance regime that is in place for the lift contractor. How exactly does the lift contractor go about doing his job? So, BCA is also looking at a performance-based regime for lift contractors to maintain the lifts well.

3.00 pm

Mdm Speaker: Order. End of Question Time. I propose to take the break now. I suspend the Sitting and will take the chair again at 3.30 pm.

[Pursuant to Standing Order No 22(3), provided that Members had not asked for questions standing in their names to be postponed to a later Sitting day or withdrawn, written answers to questions not reached by the end of Question Time are reproduced in the Appendix.]

Sitting accordingly suspended

at 3.00 pm until 3.30 pm.

Sitting resumed at 3.30 pm

[Mdm Speaker in the Chair]